hens lay eggs​

Year 2019 begins with another year of weekly entries in the #MFRWAuthor 52-week blog challenge. Yes, I signed up for another year. We begin with the first prompt that asks why we write: for fun, profit, or some other reason.

When answering that question or a variation of it in past years, the answer boiled down to "If I don't write, my brain will explode." That remains true with regard to the fiction publish; however, I do write for a living which means that I write what my clients want. Such writing encompasses blogs, website content, white papers (i.e., technical papers, case studies), and fiction based on their plots and character descriptions.

Therefore, one might say that I write for both fun and profit. It's not a bad way to live, although I do seem to spend an inordinate amount of time chasing down gigs.

So, I begin with projects that are supposed to start this month. Some of them are paying projects. I got an early start on the western anthology, so there's no rush to tackle that immediately. I do have a couple of ongoing projects that I'll be resuming work on. Next week. This week I'm playing catch-up after taking an unplugged vacation over the holidays.

"Unplugged?" you echo in astonishment.

Indeed. I abandoned email and social media entirely. I did not watch videos online, although I did watch some TV. Mainly, I read. I read books printed on paper, books that needed nothing but light to deliver me into swashbuckling worlds of romance and derring-do. Due to the rainy weather, I generally stayed indoors, curled on the sofa with a drink at hand. A few times I roused my lazy self to cook dinner. I slept in.

Let's face it: Adventure is all well and good, but it's damned exhausting. I'd rather just imagine myself in it, rather than experience its discomforts and risks in real life.

Hello, Holly. My mostly-unplugged holiday was not voluntary; I had to travel for family events throughout November and early December. Nevertheless, I think it did me good, though getting back into the rhythm of writing has taken some time and effort. I wish you happy, healthy, productive writing in 2019.

Holly Bargo

1/5/2019 12:30:01 pm

Thank you for the warm wishes. I agree it does take time and effort to get back into the rhythm after a solid break from the routine.

Unplugging is good for the soul:) I usually do it every Sunday, after checking my email and briefly posting on social media. One hour, tops, then I shut off the computer and spend the rest of the day with my kids or just reading:)

Holly Bargo

1/5/2019 12:30:55 pm

I generally check email on Saturday, but don't do much else as far as "work" is concerned. Unless the manuscript calls. Then I obey the summons.

I took a break from a story due out in 2019, but I wrote a novella out of the blue. A friend had knee surgery in mid-December so I did take time to help her out and spend time with her when she came home from rehab. I've forgotten how to take a real break, but I'd like to remember.

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Author

Hard boiled, scrambled, over easy, and sunny side up: eggs are the musings of Holly Bargo, the pseudonym for the author.

Blog Swaps

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